The quinacrine controversy continues

Abstract

Quinacrine is a non-surgical method of female sterilisation. It has not been approved by the drug regulatory authority in any country as studies have not yet shown whether it is safe or effective. A small number of individual doctors are continuing to provide this method to poor women in developing countries, in spite of international advice by the WHO, IPPF and other medical and scientific experts in the field. This report includes: 1) a summary of events in the past year, most importantly the finding of mutagenicity in three of the four pre-clinical toxicology tests on the drug and the issues these results raise for further research; 2) a paper by Lezak Shallat on the continuing provision of quinacrine sterilisation to women in Santiago, Chile.